Awakening
by Kemeyeoz
Summary: She slays his kind, 'purification' they call it while he devours, kills and abid to his ruthless master. The war is ongoing and she finds herself in their territory without her sword and company. What does Aizen want with her, and who can stop him from destroying everything she ever cared about? Is it true when they say that Hollows cannot feel? In the battle, no life is spared.
1. Captured

**Awakening: Chapter 1:**

**Author's Note: **

**Hello Everybody~ **

**This is my first time writing on Ulquiorra x Rukia**

**it may be a weird pairing but they are the few of my top favorite characters in Bleach! :)**

**So I hope you will enjoy the story nonetheless ~**

**Please R and R alrighty?**

**.**

**I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Normal POV:**

**.**

Rukia layed still on the cold hard ground, gasping for air after the vigorous fight with the Ninth Espada, Aaroniero. Though with victorious outcome, it was not without her obtaining fatal injuries from her worthy opponent. As the two had clashed swords and been exchanging words of few, both distracted and focused, not realizing that a third party was waiting in the shadows, observing intently.

Now as she lay motionless, he stepped out quietly from his spot after confirming the end of the fight, and approached the small figure that was sprawled on the ground. Rukia though was still weak and body numb from the fight, could definitely feel the small amount of reiatsu leaking from his body as he came closer to her. Not wanting to seem totally helpless in front of her enemy, with the littlest strength she had left, she stabbed her sword down onto the firm layer of earth and used it as leverage, forcing herself up. sweat rolling down her sides, mixing with blood, her breath heavy and unsteady.

Though slightly impressed by her will and determination, he did not show it, the stoic expression still on his face. "I'm not going to fight you Shinigami, you are weak" he stated simply.

"Shut up Arrancar! Don't underestimate me!" she spat. 'Stubborn' and 'Troublesome' she was, he thought. Rukia raised her pure white katana and swung at him which he dodged with ease. "Too slow," as he grabbed the hilt of her sword and pushed her away from him, causing her to stumble a few steps back. A smirk came to her mouth for an instance and his eyes widened a little, "_Bakudo #61 Rikujukoro!, Hado #33 Sokatsui_!" , six beams from light emerged and encased him in between, a burst of blue spiritual energy shot towards him before he could break the barrier. She watched as the scene was immediately overcast-ed by smoke and prayed that the hit did as much damage as she wished it did, only to be disheartened when a shadow slowly emerged from the misty screen, the spell had successfully reached him though did little to no effect on him, merely scarring him slightly on his left shoulder.

Chanting two spells in one go took a lot from her considering how she had already used most of her energy in the previous battle. Her knees weakened, nearly causing her to buckle under weight and pressure. A sudden throb painfully stabbed itself into her head, pounding and drilling its way into her brain. Gripping her head with both her hands, she gave one last cry before losing consciousness, her legs giving way.

"Chh," he remarked as he sonido behind her and caught her before she could hit the ground. The lack of battle and climax he thought, and wondered why Aizen-sama wanted her for seemingly as her powers were not significant. Had it not been for Aizen's direct orders, he would have left her to die slowly from the excessive loss of blood. Such pitiful state. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't just let her fall, why he'd had caught her. Quickly dismissing those questions for later as he sorted his present priorities out and carried on with his duty.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, he lifted her limp body carefully off the ground and carried her towards the infirmary.

"Heal her" giving commands to the healer and leaving without another word. He was to report to Lord Aizen of his successful mission and get further instructions on proceeding.

* * *

"I have completed my mission Aizen-sama" he said after announcing his arrival and bowed before his master. This kindly looking man that gave orders to him was one not to be taken lightly of, how the aura around him silently demand for respect and fear to those who dared to defy him. How a great and deceptive mind was always working behind that calm exterior was absolutely startling, and thus gaining the respect of he himself.

"Well done, I see that you have done everything smoothly as I have expected from you" the ex-captain of 5th squad looked down from his throne from above, "See to it that Miss Kuchiki is taken care of, I would place you in charge of her well-being for now."

"As you wish Aizen-sama"

"You're dismissed" Aizen said and gave a wave his hand

He nodded and turned to leave, one hand on the handle of the door when his Lord spoke.

"Oh Ulquiorra" he stopped and turned his head slightly, looking over his shoulder at Aizen, "Do be gentle with her, she is crucial to my plans"

The Quatro had always watched from behind the views, observing closely to the battles that took place and never interfering unless it got in his way. A few times he had seen the petite shinigami with the sunset coloured haired substitute and her other human trash 'friends'. She wasn't extremely strong and didn't have godly brute strength, but what she lack in terms of 'muscle' , he noted, was easily overlooked by her grace and swift movements in the battlefield. She executed spells and chants quickly, moved gracefully and attacked wittingly. He studied her like a specimen; a beautiful snow and ice wielder that danced when everyone else simply moved seemingly clumsily in comparison.

.

Pure..So pure and gentle..

.

.

* * *

Amethyst orbs revealed from beneath the heavy lids, eyes fluttering as they slowly adapted to the sudden burst of light that was bestowed upon her. Rukia slowly sat up and braced for pain that did not come, only to find slight numbness and sore in her muscles. She flexed around to reaffirm her suspicions and found her guesses correct; she had been healed. Looking down to check for any signs of wounds or cuts, she found herself clothed in a pure white hakama.

Shifting her gaze around to gain knowledge of her location, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. The room had peach colored painted walls that were decorated with beautiful drawings and was almost empty, cept for the few grand furniture that layed around; bed, coffee table, couch and a cupboard. Though the room was more than decent, it was quite obvious that no one had set foot in until recently. 'who healed me? who changed my clothing?' she frowned when the questions that had arisen could not be answered.

'Where am I?' she pondered and dragged herself off the undeniably comfortable bed, soft furry carpet meeting her feet. She looked around to check for any givings as to where she currently was and realized that there was two doors that in the room. She walked towards the first and turned the knob, pushing it slightly ajar to reveal a bathroom behind. Peering from the gap to check if anyone was in, then slowly widened the gap and walked in hesitantly. The bathroom was quite a sight to behold; other than the seemingly larger than life shower place was a grand luxurious bathtub and appliances that sparkled. Even the taps were plaited gold and the floor was so clean and shiny that she could easily see her own reflection from them.

After 'investigating' around for a little and decidedly that she had seen enough, she walked out and headed for the next door and by her common sense, that door was supposedly the way out from wherever she was. Slightly rushing her steps, she reached out and swung down the handle only to dismay to find it locked. 'Damn it!' she cussed and her legs itched to kick down the door that was in her way. She pushed the thought away and was sure that whoever who had taken care of her wouldn't be pleased had they found their door torn or smashed down.

Sighing, she took a step back and headed back to the bed when the handle turned and a gust of wind blew against the exposed skin of her neck when the door swung open. Rukia immediately turned around, too quickly for her own good, and smacked head first in something solid. 'Ouch!' she almost yelped and clutched her nose to prevent any possible blood loss. She peered up to find herself staring into an endless pit of emerald green looking back at her.

"You have beautiful eyes.."

Before she could stop herself, the words had already slipped out from her mouth and she mentally screamed inside, seeing how the receiving party of the so-called compliment gave her a look that questioned her sanity. She quickly broke from the gaze and took a step back away from him, then he took two steps forward, closing the space in between them.

"wha-" she placed her hands on his sturdy chest and attempted to shove him back, only loosing her own balance when he was stationary. He gripped her by her wrist before she could stumble back "woman, stay still" he commanded and she stood and dazed slightly before he slowly released her.

'Stupid!' she scolded in her mind and cussed for embarrassing herself in front of him. She had this nagging feeling in her head that told her if her _nii-sama_ ever saw what she did or said, he would have immediately called a meeting to have her executed. 'Kuchiki pride' she repeated in her mind like a chant. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself down. It wasn't the time to let the color of a person's eye stun her, no, she had much more things to think about. 'Think rationally Rukia' she reminded herself "this is not a vacation for you. Your enemy is standing infront of you right now and can kill you anytime, get a hold of yourself!'.

"What do you want, and why am I here?" she opened her eyes and willed herself to stare right back at him. Green lifeless orbs stared back down at her, had not it been the little bit of courage and sense left in her, she would have been ogling at him stupidly again. Instead, she kept her Kuchiki mask on, the one she had so begrudgingly learned from her brother in order to please the elders of the family.

"You are in Las Noches and you are needed alive by Lord Aizen, Trash" he replied nonchalantly. Rukia's fist clenched and threatened to punch his stone-carved face in, instinctively she reached out to grab her zanpakuto, only to find it missing from her side. 'Of course' she sourly mused 'she was a prisoner so how could they let her have her sword'.

"Why did you heal me? Why bother when you can just kill me? and what does Aizen want with me?!" her eyes narrowed in suspicions at the sound of the traitorous captain's name.

Quatro looked at her wearily like she was too dumb to exist "I already told you trash, Aizen-sama needs you alive and it wouldn't be any use of you to him if you were near to being a corpse. For what reason, you do not need to know"

She flinched and nearly loss her cool 'calm yourself Rukia, calm yourself' , she took another deep breath before stating her displeasure (well one of it at least). "My name is Rukia Kuchiki"

"I know-"

"Then use it!" she raised her voice slightly before throwing a glare at him. If looks could kill. She turned away from him and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door in the process. 'Baka!' she had hoped that the entire ceiling would collapse and crush that rude little emerald-eyed espada. She heard the door from the other room close and she gave a sigh of relief. 'Just in case' she thought and waited for a few more minutes to make sure the arrogant bastard was gone.

Might as well take a bathe while I'm here. She slowly shrugged the hakama off and stepped into the shower, letting the warm flow of water cascade down her body, relaxing her tense her muscles. She soaped her hair and body, the mixture of strawberry and other fruit scented aroma delighting her senses. It was just what she needed to soothe her mind and body over her current situation.

She stepped out soaking wet, her raven locks dripping droplets down as it flowed in a stream down her delicate body. The towel tightly wrapped around her slim and well-curved body. Clothes.. she wondered for a second before approaching the cherry oak cupboard to find pieces of white and strays of black. She randomly grabbed one and started piecing the clothing together as if a fixing a jigsaw puzzle. She walked and gasped at the reflection in the mirror, herself wearing none other than the Espada outfit. She frowned slightly but replaced it with a smile when she admit-tingly admired the great sense of fashion of the Espadas. The contrast to her usual shinigami shikahusho, the espada's uniform consisted mostly of white instead of black and was more fitting than the usual loose robes.

She wore a tank-top and a vest like outer with the two longer extensions at the back reaching till slightly above her butt while the front was much shorter, splitting into two above her belly button, exposing her flat and hardened stomach, skin pale and flawless. A short hot skirt reaching till mid thigh was her bottom flaunting at her creamy and smooth legs. To complete, she wore white gloves with blackened linings and high calf boots to match. She looked down at the pile of clothes that she had changed out from and wondered what to do with it.

**_- Knock Knock. -_**

The door opened and Ulquiorra entered stoically. Rukia thanked to the Gods that she had finished dressing herself before he rudely invaded her personal space.

"What," she folded her arms crossly and frowned (almost pouted) like a child that had been refused her toys.

Ulquiorra let his eyes wander up and down, letting it soak upon her new appearance "Dinner will be served at the Ballroom with the attendance of the high ranking espadas and Lord Aizen, your presence is wanted" he replied though still not looking up at her. He had to admit, he was surprised to see her in their uniform and also, though refusing to confess, she looked good. Not just good, Beautiful. He frowned when he realized he was thinking of such ridiculous thoughts a mere shinigami that was below him.

"I'm not going, I'd rather starve than eat dinner with the likes of him"

"You have no choice but to. It is an order and I will use force if I have to" his tone still calm yet with a hint of danger lurking behind. She just shrugged indifferently "If you're trying to threaten me, it's not working. I'm not shifting from this spot" she emphasized her point by stomping her right foot.

Silence had been his sole reply. She was feeling glee from her small easy victory but soon enough, it turned to shock and anger when he easily shoved her over his back like a sack of potatoes.

"Let me go!" she yelled in frustration and started struggling around, her efforts ineffective as his firm hold did not falter. Her legs were held down tightly and no matter how much she squirmed or fidgeted, it made no difference to her position. They were passing down a brightly lit halfway that seemed like a endless path of eternal white. If someone were to see her like this, she swore to kill herself and die with the little dignity she had left. Sighing for what seemed like a million times today, she probed herself up with her elbow and tilted her head to his face. She freaked out at the close proximity of their faces when an idea struck her like a lightning bolt. Decidedly that it may have been an advantage for her, she quietly snickered at her own ingenious "evil" plan.

'He might not have any reaction to violence and rebellion, but let's see how he likes it if I invaded HIS space' she held back an evil maniacal laughter. She lifted her face to his neck and slowly breathed out "Arrancar~" letting her hot breath cloud the surface of his skin. He twitched slightly almost missable, when he felt her warm exhalation land on his skin. And she did it again.

"Stop your childish behavior woman" he maintained his cool composure, acting as though her little scheme had done nothing of sort to affect him. She smirked though, knowing that even the slightest twitched was a victory to be accounted for and was holding a small celebration in her head when he announced her dreaded worse-than-death fate.

"We've reached" and he finally set her down to the ground. Rukia felt the hair on her back stand when she detected the dangerous lurking _reiatsu_ that was from her mortal enemies and their maniacal leader.

He noticed how her violet eyes that usually shined with a glow of confidence was now overtaken by insecurity and fear. It was none of his business, he assured himself, and knocked on the door before announcing his arrival "Ulquiorra Schiffer, coming in". One hand on the handle, he pushed the wide pending doors and nodded for Rukia to enter. A majestical setting greeted Rukia, a long spread table with golden silken fabric that served as table mat, chandeliers that hung above with it's crystals reflecting the seven wondrous colors spread out in the room. Her back stiffened and she paled, no not at the higher-than-royalty-standard set up of the room, but due to whom was sitting at the table. The 10 Espadas - expected, Aizen as well, but that one person she saw that dreaded the most, sitting there grinning at her with eyes as slits.

.

"Ara, Rukia-chan!"

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**There you go! Chapter 1 of the story!**

**I hope you like it! :D I know it's quite abit of rush..but yeah, i dislike delaying things too much.**

**Anyways, I hope everyone in the story weren't too OOC :(**

**Please R and R alrighty? It would mean alot to me!**

**oh and if you like, I do have two other ongoing stories:**

**IchiRuki and HichiRuki! :D check it out on my profile~!**

**Till next time, Chao!**

**.**

**.**

**Kemeyeo,**


	2. Prisoner

**Awakening: Chapter 2:**

**Author's Note:**

**Hey hey everyone!**

**I'm really excited and loving this story!**

**however, it's not recieving as good results as I hoped :(**

**ahh well, I shouldn't complain though, it is a crack pairing afterall**

**I do have my reasons though :**

**So on we go!**

**.**

**I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

**Normal POV:**

Rukia nearly shivered at the sight of him. He was always one who gave off a sense of frightening aura around, like a snake coiling up and strangling the breath out of her. He was as usual, eyes in slits that hardly ever opened and a wide grin on his face that never left. It sent chills down her spine. This time, she swore to herself, she will not let him have the pleasure of watching her back down. How he teased her, how he loved torturing people with a sense of hope and shutting thing them down with even greater despair. A sickening bastard who took pride in manipulating and intimidating.

Rukia willed herself to be strong and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, letting oxygen rush into her brain. It was always wise to think through thoroughly before acting, she reminded and prepared herself to take on whatever may come. "Gin Ichimaru" she acknowledge his existence with poise and elegance that could have made her brother proud.

"Ahhh Rukia, you're here, splendid! We've been waiting for you" this time the ex-captain of the 5th division spoke. Rukia merely shifted her orbs to the man who spoke, and gave a nod as her full reply. "Come come, sit with me my dear Rukia, I'm sure Gin would like you here as well" he pointed towards the seat in between his and the silver haired snake. She debated in her mind whether or not to defy him just to piss him off, after all he was her capturer not her master, she could damn well do anything she liked.

"Why would I want to sit beside you Aizen" she said monotonously and crossed her arms on her chest. She knew she was in deep shit, she knew that she could die the very next second but she did not care the very least. She had already prepared herself for the worst kind of treatment and she did not fear death for she wasn't even alive in the first place. Rukia could feel the shocked expressions that the Arrancars tried to hide, someone who dared defied their Lord.

"Now now let's not be hasty Rukia, I just wish to ask of your well-being" a kind smile appeared on his face 'devious smirking bastard' she thought to herself as she fully understood the demon that lay behind that mask, terrifying.

"I'm fine, thank you" she remarked sarcastically.

"That's very good, I'm glad to hear that Ulquiorra here is taking good care of you. Anyways, why don't you come here Rukia, I'm sure you have questions that you want to ask, hmm?" he replied with an all knowing look.

She hesitated for a moment before walking over slowly yet elegantly towards the appointed seat, each step seemingly making the grin on Gin's face wider. Ulquiorra watched as Rukia did as she asked and he too, went to his usual seating. He had no doubt been watching her expressions and reactions closely and was definitely not disappointed. He had been taken aback when she boldly talked back to Aizen-sama, something that no one had dared to do. He saw the conflicts within when she was unsure of the choices she should make and the resolve in her eyes when she had made the decision.

"I'm pleased that ya have decided to join us at the table Rukia-chan" Gin coaxed at her, the sound of his voice made her stomach clench. Rukia did her best to ignore him and whatever he was saying to her.

The food was served shortly after, plates after plates continued coming until the tables was filled with all sorts of delicacies. She wondered if this was a daily occurrence but decided against it when the faces of a few Espadas lit up immediately. Thought it was clearly visible that some had wanted to waste no time in digging in to the scrumptious looking food, no one dared move an inch and Rukia knew why. Aizen took the first move, scooping some on his plate and tasted it before giving a nod 'go' ,it meant. The once solidified statues starting moving in quick ecstasy, though definitely with frantic yet unsure movements. They feared, she realized, the man that was sitting beside her whom sat so calmly.

She wasn't hungry even a bit, how could anyone be when stuck in something like this, surely the sane wouldn't have a nice dinner with the person who threatened the existence of all she cared for. She wanted to leave but her desire for answers stopped her. "So why am I here?" she asked, not wanting to waste anymore time.

"Ahh, but you have not eaten anything Rukia, I'll answer when you eat" she held back the urge to stab the fork into his forehead and obliged by popping a sushi in her mouth. Keeping to the deal he replied immediately "you are here simply because you are a key to my plans. The Hogyoku has recently been unstable and it is reacting very strangely"

"And what does this have to do with me?" he pointed towards the plates and she raised an eyebrow, 'why does it matter to him whether I eat or not?' but decided not to ask and took a spoon full of pasta.

"As you know, you were the previous containment for the Hogyoku, and it seemed that it has already accepted you as it's true master and the only one who can command it..is you" he mused at the strange but undeniably true factor.

"So you're going to kill me and claim it?" she questioned impatiently

He shook his head "I'm returning it to you but you'll be working with me"

'This guy must have hit his head hard enough to think that I'll ever help him' she thought, and nearly fell over in laughter at his last statement. "You're crazy I would never betray-" he interrupted "your friends? what if I told you that I have something to make you change your mind? someone.." he let his words hang in mid air, the meaning twirling itself in her head.

She grit her teeth in fury, this sickening man had someone important to her and was using it as an advantage and weakness. Snarled "what. did. you. do?!"

He merely snapped his fingers and the door swung open, the shadows of a few could barely see stood out. Her blood froze as she realized who they were. "No..No..Let them go!" she yelled and grabbed at his collar, yanking him fiercely from his seat, Ulquiorra was instantly at their side, his hand gripped tightly on her's, stopping the blood flowing through her veins. He chuckled at her fury like it added to his amusement, the sadistic bastard was enjoying watching her blow a fuse. "I'll make you a deal Rukia, but you must follow it closely. You will do as I say and I will make sure that Quincy and Miss Orihime is not harmed in any ways. If you refuse..you'll lose them forever"

Silence filled the room as a the room temperature dropped to zero degrees celsius, even without Sode no Shirayuki, she had capabilities to a certain extent. Ice cold reiatsu immersed from within her small body, suffocating the 10th Espada. A tear slid down her cheek and dripped darkening a spot of the carpet beneath her feet and that was all she let out.

"I'll do it, just don't hurt them" she got up promptly and left without another word.

* * *

She had no idea where she was going but it didn't matter and she didn't care. She had found a stairwell and decided to make rest there. She let her body weigh down lazily to the ground as she sat on the steps. She sunk her nails into her wrists and bit her own lip, letting the pain rush through her body as it shook uncontrollably. 'Do not cry Rukia, as it is weakness' she reminded herself. Overwhelmed by guilt, she knew her friends were in this situation because of her. Curse her bad luck, curse her life. She wondered if she should just die, but slapped herself immediately for thinking about something so absurd. She had to be strong, she had no rights to mourn or pity the state she was in. It was because of her weakness that she got captured in the first place and she knew it.

It was then and there she decided, she made a resolve to get stronger to protect the ones she loved, and never to allow anyone to manipulate her feelings ever again. What else could she do? She didn't have a choice and she knew Aizen was going to use under-hand resorts to get what he wants. 'Inoue, Ishida, I'll come for you I promise'

Light footsteps approached from behind her and she couldn't be bothered to check who it was. "Why are you sitting here?" the familiar ever monotonous voice echoed down the empty hallway. "I don't see any reasons not to be here, why are YOU here?" she fought back, the tone sharp and cold like the edge of a blade.

"Aizen-sama had asked for me to be in charge of -"

She interrupted "don't worry _Arrancar_, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to turn suicidal either." she mocked. He had noted the hostile note that was present in the tone that she used and was slightly taken aback of how quickly her emotions had changed. She pushed herself of the steps and stood up boldly facing him now.

"Lead me to my room" it was not a command but a request to which he followed wordlessly. He started walking towards the direction of the room and she following quietly a few steps behind.

The journey was a short one in which was of total silence.

"You can go, I'm not going to escape" she stated clearly before shoving him out of the room and slamming the door in his face. He lifted a brow, slightly amused by her abrupt change in behavior and was curious as to what went through in her mind but shook it off when he decided that it was none of his concern. Rukia stood stunned behind the door, shocked by her rash actions. She was astounded by her own rude gestures and wondered if she should apologize. After all, he was only following orders. Rukia frowned as she did a recap of her actions but smiled slightly when she realized it actually felt good. 'No, he deserves it, I'm not going to apologize to that emo sod' sighing, she made a self check to treat him slightly nicer the next time he came.


	3. Admittance

**Awakening: Chapter 3:**

**Author's Note:**

**Ahhhh I'm so excited!**

**Recently I've been reading a lot of fanfics about crack couples and it's so cute :3**

**Squeals in delight**

**Alrighty, thanks to my first reviewer for the story**

**(I can't remember your name but you know who you are)**

**So forward I go! I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Normal POV:**

The sunlight streamed in, lighting up the room from the streak that flowed in gently. A new day had arrived. To some, it was the starting point of their lives, others a day that was yet to be conquered.

For the young prisoner of Las Nochas, today was the day, the marking of a drastic change in her world. The things she built up in the past hundred over years of her life might possible come crashing down in just this hour, minute, second. She sat on the cold top of the operation table, feeling like a test subject to be experimented on. No doubt Szayel, the 8th Espada, was very eager to meet Rukia. It was quite surprising though, how the pink bubblegum-ed hair mad scientist has been no lesser than perfect in his welcoming of the petite shinigami, as opposed to the other Arrancars that she has met so far.

"Be brave Rukia" he had called her by her given name as requested by she herself "I'm sorry but I wont be able to tell you that it doesn't hurt, but it'll be over soon alright?" he gave a kindly smile and gently patted her on her shoulder. Rukia could only nod solemnly and offer him a small smile of her own. She was soon to have the hogyoku placed back in her body and to have it fused. 'I, Rukia Kuchiki, is a shinigami of the Soul Society and the Gotei 13', she said proudly and thought about how it was probably the last time she would be able to declare that status. Tears pricked on the corner of her eye and threatened to flow out.

She felt a warm sensation on her face and froze in shock when realizing that the warmth was from a hand, that belonged to none other than the fourth Espada.

"Don't cry...Rukia" he had said, before the tears started escaping, coming down even harder. She brought her hand up and wiped the tears away with the back of her palm. She looked up to meet his gaze "I won't anymore, I won't" she promised.

"I'm ready" closing her eyes and readied herself.

With the Hogyoku in her right hand, she lifted it and placed it unto her chest, right above her heart. She applied pressure on the orb and crushed it with her fingers, the shards sunk into her body, causing her to writhe in pain, shivering and shaking in anguish. She felt her breathing come out heavy and unsteady, her heart clenched tightly and she fought the urge to scream. Her vision blurred and everything seemed to be in motion, she felt something warm at the side of her head before her world faded to darkness.

* * *

_Yesterday.._

He was in her room once again after his routine of knocking, announcing and entering without waiting for a response, and found himself staring. She laid on the bed with blankets wrapped protectively around her stunning small frame, accentuating the smooth curves of her body. One had to admit, with this lovely sight of innocence on the angelic face of hers, it made smiles form and hearts melt. Unfortunately, the Quatro Espada willfully thought about how ridiculous it seemed, seeing how he technically had no heart. Yet, a force unbeknownst to him, was refraining him from waking her up from her peaceful slumber.

He debated in his head on the decision to his next action before finally settling on an answer. 'No need to waste more time than necessary' he affirmed himself that it was a definite plausible reason to wake her up. He shifted slightly and placed a knee on the queen sized bed where Rukia was currently sleeping on and hesitantly, carefully inched towards her resting figure. He gave himself some moments before proceeding with the supposed task and placed his hands on her delicate shoulder.

"Wake up" he started softly, shaking her slightly. After a few tried, patience ran thin when he realized that it was going to take more than a few nudges and whispers to awaken the girl that was sleeping like a dead log. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her with more force "wake up shinigami" now commanding, his voice stern and slightly raised. To his relief, she started stirring, her wide eyes of brilliant purple flickering slightly before opening sleepily "wha-?" and sat outright, her voice a little scratchy and raw from the long hours of no usage. She sat in position with half-lidded eyes and a blank look for awhile before drifting back to sleep, dozing off with her head nodding, slumping back in slow motion.

Coldness creeped up, sending shivers down her spine. In her current condition; the state nowhere near consciousness, due to the refusal of her brain to work, her body had taken over all senses and acted on its own accord. Her eyes closed, she felt around for anything that seemed to produce heat and stopped when her hands landed on something soft. She leant into the warmth that seemed to be radiating of the said object and grabbed it, hugging it close to her body. She wrapped her body against the texture of fabric and slammed back down on to the bed, pulling the 'pillow' along with her.

Said 'pillow' was having a hard time breathing. The proximity was something that could easily be overlooked but the gesture was definitely not something he was used to. He laid as still as a stone, hands fixed on his sides. He had never been in a situation like this before and did not know how to react. Eyes wide open, he froze in shock as the raven haired shinigami moved even closer, her body pressed tightly against his, her head cuddled against his sturdy chest. He tried to pull away, only to be grabbed back into a tighter embrace.

Seeing how moving away was not an option, he decided that the only way was to wake her up, leading him back to the initial problem. He felt a throb in his head and could feel a headache coming if anymore issues came up. Sighing, he pat her head and called her name. No movements. "Woman!" he nearly shouted and got his desired results. "Hmm?" Rukia answered, eyes blinking and squinting, adjusting to the brightness that the sun had introduced. A sight of the coldest greens greeted her and she smiled, a wonderful scent aroused to her senses and she inhaled deeply. "Why are you sniffing at me woman?" pure curiosity in the tone of a deep velvety voice asked, "you smell of daisies.." she smiled wider.

Wait.. was someone in the room with her?.. Green eyes.. deep and monotonous speaking...woman?..why does that seem so familiar?..

Then realization hit her HARD when she fell off the bed and landed on her face.

Ulquiorra swore that he could almost feel the ground below him vibrate when the loudest piercing scream he'd ever heard was emitted.

"Why the heck are you in my room?!" the flames of hell flickering dangerously in her wide eyes.

"Breakfast" he said as if it had explained everything.

"How did you bringing breakfast end up with lying beside me?! you.. you pervert!" pointing a finger accusingly in his face

He merely lifted an eyebrow and commented on how he would never be interested what little her unfeminine body had to offer. She pounced on him causing the both of them to topple unto the bed, her on top of him, knees digging into his thighs and hands pushed down on his wrists. "I dare you to say it again Schiffer" she seethed, glaring down at him from above.

Though she was remarkably strong for her size, he highly doubt she could do anything to harm him "you have no sex appeal, shinigami" he repeated.

_Smack_! a puffy white pillow was sent to his face.

"You can't possibly be thinking that a pillow would hurt me shinigami..that's just-" another blow was sent to his face.

"what did you say Schiffer-san~?" Rukia snickered, a wide grin on her face. Ulquiorra almost shivered at the overly sweet tone that she had just used on him.

"I said-" _smack!_ "Woman I'm warni-" _smack!_ "Stop it" _smack!_

"Alright that's it" He sat up and grabbed her, one hand on her wrist and the other on her waist, flipping her down. Now roles reversed with him pinning her down, her petite body beneath his, worming around in attempt to escape. "Get off me Schiffer!" she huffed. No reply. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she was about to question his sudden silence when she noticed a slight hint of pink peeking on his pale cheeks. She followed his gaze and immediately understood what had cause the Quatro to act so uncharacteristically. The sash that held her hakama together had went loose and untied during the struggle and part of the top had lifted, exposing the curve of her breast.

He looked away immediately when he realized he was staring and tried his utmost to stop the reddening of his face. Within a second, he had flew from his previous position to a few feet away from the bed. Her eyes went half-lidded and a smirk came to, definitely a face was of pure seduction. "Ohhh~ like what you see Schiffer-san~?" she purred and winked at him, licking her lips.

If not paying attention, the shiver that Ulquiorra had would come unseen, however it was not unnoticed by the teasing shinigami. It was a rare scene, one to be treasured and kept in the heart and replayed in the mind over and over again. Rukia burst out in laughter, the echoes bouncing of the walls and sending the pitiful Espada's head pounding. A headache was definitely developing steadily.

Not wanting to lose his composure any further, he decidedly headed for the door "I'll be back in thirty minutes, be sure to clear the food by that time" and left without another word.

"Spoilsport" she murmured and walked towards the cart of food that Ulquiorra had brought in previously. The food was quite decent, with a fine assortment of vegetables; broccoli, peas, corn and ..carrot. Orange and 'carrot' always brought her thoughts to a certain individual with the same the same hair color.. and she wondered where he was at the moment and if he was alright.

'Ichigo, Renji, Uryuu, Chad, Orihimi..' the pang of guilt sending a sinking feeling to her heart, once again harshly reminded her of why she was here. She knew that by the passing of each second, the closer the drawing of her inevitable fate. To have the Hogyoku once again placed inside of her, and this time to merge with it, to undergo the process of hollowfication. 'It's not that bad.. is it?..' she wondered about how hollows felt being themselves or if they even felt anything at all. She noticed that although Ulquiorra was seen as one void of any feelings, she had first hand witnessed him with some subtle hints of carrying emotions.

Throughout her entire life as a shinigami, she was taught in the academy that hollows only held the desire to feed and hurt. She although nodded and never questioned their supposed reasoning upfront, often couldn't help but wonder if it was entirely true. After all, Hollows although hollows, were once living souls that held emotions, feelings of affections and .. well a heart. There was a dash of hope, even if only the slightest, that maybe after evolving to Arrancars, the changes was not only on the physical.

'If I become a hollow..will I lose my heart as well?..' the answer to the question was the most fearful and terrifying one yet. The memories that she held so dearly to her chest, the bonds she cherished with her chest. Will they accept her for who she would soon become? or was she bound to rejection once again?..

Losing her appetite at the mere thought of losing the acceptance she had worked so hard to achieve, she placed the tray back on the cart. As if by cue, a knock sounded followed by the entrance of the stoic arrancar. Ulquiorra was quite pleased that there wasn't a need to force the food down her throat, seeing although the tray wasn't completely emptied, at least half had been cleared. He was about to leave when he heard a soft whisper of his name, standing still in his spot but not turning. "Ulquiorra" this time louder, he looked over his shoulder to see her standing quite closely behind him "what is it like?.. to be a hollow"

He was quite perplexed at how this strange person standing before him could so quickly and drastically change in terms of mood. "Be more distinct" he answered, trying to figure out the motive behind the questions she posed."Well.." she fidgeted around in her spot "How did it feel like to become a hollow?"

Instead of answering, he sent a question back at her "..What do you know about hollows?"

"In the academy we were taught that.. when the chain of fate of a plus has completely corroded, leaving only a bare hole behind, it means that they have lost their heart" she replied unsurely, but continued "Once a soul becomes a Hollow, it is driven by an eternal and insatiable hunger to devour other souls, living or dead, to fill the void caused by its descent and causes danger to-.."

"Pfft, so in short it simply means that we are just creatures..monsters" he turned completely to face her "just loathsome monsters that should be cut down mercilessly isn't it?" the coldness of his tone sending chill to her but she refused to back down.

"What?..Why are you saying something like that?" mortified at the recognizable accusation "I didn't mean that, it's just.. I don't believe that all the hollows are the same- .."

His tone in mockery "Oh, then what? Others more devious than the rest, is that it?" now amusement changing to pure vengeance "Would you understand the constant need to feed just to ease the feeling of emptiness? Living without a purpose, searching for something we desperately seek but can not get. The desire so strong and uncontrollable that makes our blood boil, how we fight to stop the ache, do you understand how it feels? No never, you will never understand. How your people despise us, unfeelingly slice us to bits. We are after all just something repulsive that only devours for selfish gains yes? "

She shook her head fiercely, tears continuously streaming down her face."No..That's not true.. I don't- "

He unzipped his jacket, revealing his bare chest and the hole that resided below his collar bone "this! " his voice laced with venom "this hole where my heart is supposed to be. Do you see it shinigami, can you..can you feel my pain? This hole that has replaced my heart and filled me with emptiness instead" He was revealing his every feeling and though it was unspoken of, both knew that the words were of agony, misery instead of hatred.

The next second, she was in front of him, he braced himself for a attack that never came. Instead, he found himself in the embrace of the petite shinigami, her hands encircling his waist and back. Not used to being a person of receiving (now showing) affection, he attempted to shove her back, only to have her hands wrap tighter "don't.." her voice firm but soft.

After she felt him relax in her arms, she slowly let go, releasing him but not moving away and raised her head to meet his gaze, beautiful violet against widened emerald. "Just because you can't see it" she placed her hand softly on the left of his chest "doesn't mean it's not there.."

Her head bowed low, expression undecipherable, took a few steps back before heading to the bathroom. "and.. you're right.. I would never be able to fully understand the suffering that you had to withstand and I know it's too late to say anything but I'm sorry..really sorry Ulquiorra..for not being there in time to stop the pain from coming.." Closing the door behind her, she left him standing in her room.

.

She had let herself once again seek comfort from the warm flow of water cascading in a stream down her back.

Ulquiorra had come again two other times with her meals and each time, it was filled with silence. He sat quietly while she ate, occupying one of the armchairs placed against the wall, positioned to face window beside her desk. When he had finally spoken to her, it was only to inform her of the matter regarding the transfer of Hogyoku to within her body, that was set tomorrow. She merely nodded, not knowing what of to say to him. A million thoughts had filled her mind, each she had to roughly push aside.

She knew that sooner or later, the process that she had to go through would eventually arrive, but she never thought that it would come so fast. Was she prepared? No, definitely not, but what choice did she have?.. She laid awake at night, gazing at the fake moon that Aizen had casted beaming above the dark endless sky, shining down on the endless desert that was Hueco Mundo and wondered if this was going to be her home instead.

* * *

Phew!~ this chapter took me especially long to write, I had to pause halfway to think about how I was to proceed.

Anyways, the side for Ichigo and others will be written in the next chapter!

I'm gonna go eat my supper now! Cya! ;D

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Kemeyeo,


	4. Reversal

**Awakening: Chapter 4:**

**Author's Note:**

**Hiya Everybodeyyy~!**

**I guess this chapter will take me slightly longer to complete as I need to do some research in rode to make the stories and details more accurate :D Anyways, I have nothing much to say about this, just that I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!**

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**I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

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**Enjoy! :**

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**Normal POV:**

"She's awake, inform Aizen-sama immediately" came a voice that sounded excited yet nervous as her violet eyes first opened. The first thing that came to her sight was a blurry dash of pink. Blinking a few more times to adjust to the sudden outburst of light and colors, she found 'bespectacled' man looming over her, eagerness in his wide-opened eyes. An over-whelming sense of familiarity struck her, she knew this man, she realized and wrecked her brain, searching through her memories frantically for recognition.

"Szayel?" a meek and almost whisper like voice emitted from her pale lips. She had remembered him as the Octava Espada, the first of the Espadas that hadn't treated her coldly, cruelly or harshly. A small smile appeared on his face, he was glad that she had been able to recognize him. He remembered the first time she was presented to him. He had been quite eager to meet the one who had finished off the ninth Espada, his fingers desperately itching to dissect the seemingly fragile female shinigami. When orders had arrived that she was not one for experimented on, he was immensely disappointed. He was absolutely grateful afterwards however when he had interacted with her and found her extremely warming. It was a shock that though they were natural enemies to fight till death, she responded most graciously, her voice held no disgust nor hatred towards him.

The act of 'Kindness' was rare or quite impossible to experience in the place that he have lived in for so long. Never have he felt such welcoming grace or been so comforted by the presence of another. He had given a thought to a possibility of all shinigamis were like that but quickly dismissed the idea, due to having encountered a few before. That was then he decided, that it was purely and only her, Rukia Kuchiki, and he thought hard about how to preserve that feeling forever.

He had previously been worried about how she would be like after the procedures, after all the transformation had different effects on different people; some absolutely losing all their memories whiles others just went crazy. Seeing how the second was definitely not the case here, he secretly released a sigh a of relief.

"Rukia, I'm glad you're up, we are just going to do some small tests to check if you've stabilized already okay?" he clapped his hands together cheerfully to which she nodded in response to. She slowly made her way up, one hand supporting her weight while the other holding the side of her head. Syazel took notice of this and quickly questioned her actions.

"It's like being bombarded with images from the past, every single thing that has happened to me is flashing through my mind. It doesn't hurt, but somehow I have this odd feeling in my chest..I feel.. different" she closed her eyes, trying to figure out the cause to her confusion in indifferences. He could only nod and did his best not to frown at her answer. He was an arrancar, were arrancars supposed to feel guilt? He realized that he was part of the reason to her change and current state, he knew obviously, that she was doing something against her will and he disliked it. Yet, as much as he hated going through with the orders, he had no choice but to.

"Ara! what do we have here? Rukia-chan is awake? I was beginning to worry!" a new voice echoed down and vibrated her eardrums. She looked up and her eyes met slick silver and a wide painted grin.

"Ichimaru Gin" she greeted coldly, her eyes visibly hardened at the sight of him. She knew who he was and remembered crystal clear how he used to adore teasing and fooling around with her, how just his presence made her cower in fear or burst in anger. This man she used to loathe so greatly, this man standing before her whom betrayed everyone and everything she believed in, she should have had the urge to slice or tear him apart but no. She felt absolutely nothing.

He was definitely taken aback at her response but quickly recovered from his shock "What's with the formality now Rukia-chan, we're almost like family! Just call me Ichimaru or Gin will do" he coo-ed, she knew he was testing her, trying to break whatever mask that he thought had been brought on. That was his mistake, as there was none.

"If you insist Gin, then I shall as you please" and the slits opened, revealing the bloodiest shade of red she had ever seen. If she hadn't known better, she would have burst out in laughter at his reaction, oh how it made her day. Gin was lost for words, he had thought that if he pushed further, she would break and began trembling like she used to, instead, she met her words to his, challenging him defiantly.

Szayel decided that it was an appropriate time for him to intervene "Miss Kuchiki, the test reports have returned and it had shown statistics that you are well enough to leave. Schiffer-sama will be here to pick you up soon" and again, as if on cue, said arrancar stepped in. His quiet footsteps approaching the small 'gathering' as he greeted his superior respectfully.

The silver haired ex-taichou had spoken again "Ahh, Ulqui-san is here, I would love to walk her back to her room as well, I'm sure she would love the company" he wanted to figure out what she had on her mind. She had been his favorite toy, and now that she was fighting back, it only made his interest in her grow.

Ulquiorra, who had no idea of the previous conversation shared by the two, was beyond startled when Rukia hadn't even frown or retaliate at Gin's quite forceful request. She merely shrugged, followed by a nonchalant "suit yourself". He had expected changes from her after the placement of the sacred Hogyoku, but he never expected anything drastic. He still could remember how the young female couldn't even talk normally, much less be in the same room as the snake-aura giving demon, so what changed?

As they walked towards the door, a sudden 'film' replayed in her mind, so she spoke, this time with an edge in the tone "Before I head back to my room, I wish to see Aizen". The other two looked at each other before turning back to her and giving her a nod before heading towards her desired destination. True enough, Gin had attempted at breaking her facade, only to be pushed back even further when all her answers to his questions had been none lesser than perfected. Ulquiorra, not one to bother himself with such mundane activities as 'chat-chatting' spent his walk listening and observing the petitie female.

When they had reach their wide doors that led to the grand room of Aizen, Gin and Ulquiorra was about to announce their arrival when Rukia stunned them momentarily, pushing the doors open and letting herself in without a care in the world. If offended, Aizen definitely did not show it when the young woman had come rudely barging in, instead greeting calm voice. "Rukia, so wonderful to see you, I do hope you're feeling better" he held a cup up with his hand and promptly offered her "Tea?".

She once again uncaringly shrugged and strutted over, settling comfortably on a seat identical to Aizen's, her legs up and crossed. An unknown arrancar served her a cup of tea and some bread with jam, and she politely accepted and thanked her. She placed an elbow on the table and used it to prop her head up, completely forgetting the manners and hours of lessons she had to go through to please the Kuchiki elders. She sipped some of the camomile tea and munched on the bread, swallowed "you know why I'm here."

Aizen lifted a brow at her strange and laid-back attitude, quite amused at how differently the process had changed her. "Of course, no worries on that part, I am a man of my word Rukia" he stopped to wait for her reaction, none "however I will only be able to let one of them go, seeing as I would need a reason for your co-operation".

She swallowed the rest of the bread that was in her mouth and reached out for another "yes of course, that's understandable. I'm trust that you have taken good care of them is that not so?" she waved the bread to his direction disrespectfully.

"Definitely Rukia, they have been under the care of beloved Quatro and Sexta, I have made sure that their stay has so far been quite desirable."

She rolled her eyes at him "So I presume you'll be letting the Quincy go isn't it? The girl has since been an object of slight interest to you" she had managed to get his plans spot on, and that was absolutely stunning to him, "I'm sure you wouldn't want the arrival of your 'victory' so quickly yes? If I do what you ask, you will make sure that nothing bad happens to my friends?" her violet eyes staring deeply into his chocolate brown.

"Yes, he will be released immediately, Grimmjow is bringing him here right now. As for your friends, I'm sure that can easily be arranged I can not confidently make sure that they will be totally unharmed, you know how they are, but I can definitely assure you that their injuries will be to the minimum" he replied, slowly sipping the cup of tea in his hands.

"You sound so sure of gaining victorious results" she leaned in towards him, a small smile playing on her lips "plans going the way you want?"

He only chuckled lightly as a response. Just then, an announcement came and the wide doors opened, two figures emerged. One stood proudly behind the other, the second staggered slightly whilst heading forward. Her eyes roamed up and down, checking for any wounds or injuries that might have been recently inflicted or gained and was absolutely pleased to find none. Good, he had kept his word.

The young talented archer had immediately recognized the petite person that was currently sitting on a towering platform, his eyes widened when he realized that he noticed a great difference in her reiatsu. He had clearly remembered how her reiatsu felt; the warm, inviting yet impressively confident. Yet now standing before him, his ally and nakama, her presence solely was enough to send a cold shiver down his back. This feeling that was emitting from her, it was one that he had encountered so many times; dark and dangerous, surely this was a reiatsu of a hollow?..

Given being deep in thought, he had failed to notice that the girl who was currently the focus of his thoughts, stood before him. "Ishida," she called out and got his attention instantly, the raven male nearly stepped back when he snapped out from his trance-like state and found Rukia standing before him. 'Wasn't she sitting there a moment ago?..'

"You've been released as a prisoner, head back to find the others and heal" seemingly like a command given to her soldier

Confused beyond possibility "What do you mean Kuchiki-san? I refuse to leave you behind..and Inoue-san, we must-"

"Listen closely as I do not have much time to explain. I need you to ask no questions. Go back to Soul Society and look for Kurosaki, I will make sure of the girl's safety. In current state, none of you will hardly present as a notable challenge for us much less winning the war..that will be impossible" her words were harsh and cruel "Here's a warning to you, when the next battle breaks out, stop at nothing and for no one, not even me."

Ishida could not possibly understand what had went on before and was about to speak when he nearly choked. The world seemed to stop moving, everything around him seemingly froze along with time, he could hardly believe his own sight when she tugged open her hakama to reveal the hole that now resided on her chest. "I'm no longer your ally Quincy, remember that"

As he shook his head in denial, the refusal to accept the truth, it hurt too much to just take in. The group had came to Hueco Mundo to save one of their dearest own, and now, not only have they failed to accomplish the mission, they had lost another. They had sworn to meet no matter the circumstances and was not to die no matter what. So why was this happening to them now?

His whole body shook in anger, knowing the culprit behind all the grievances caused was just infront of him, acting ever so smugly and calmed, it irritated him to no ends. Though being the always calculative and collected one, his anger flared at the sight of the traitorous and deceptive ex-captain. He summoned his bow and quickly shot a volley of arrows towards the calm lord of Hueco Mundo. Before the arrows had even reached an inch near to Aizen, Ishida found all of them held easily in the hands of Rukia, and with a simple flex of her hands, the arrows of collected Reishi dispersed violently like the shatter of glass.

The blue haired arrancar that had remained oddly quiet since their arrival now appeared from behind, kicking him so hard that nearly sent him flying if not for the hand of another that constricted any movements. "Are you stupid?!" she hissed menacingly at him, the grip around his collar tightened alarmingly. Grimmjow lifted a finger and sliced through the air with his nail, opening a garganta to soul society.

She let him go with a shove "leave. now." the threat visible in her tone, leaving him with no choice but to follow as she had ordered. After giving a wary glance at her, he walked towards the garganta. As the portal slowly disappeared, he turned back to look one last time. She was standing there looking at him, the pain clearly visible in her eyes "I'm sorry.." she seemed to have said before the opening closed off completely.

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"I must say Rukia Kuchiki, you are quite a puzzling person, what exactly goes on in your mind? Sacrificing your friendship and life to save another of such insignificance, how remarkably perplexing" Aizen hummed from his throne, his elbows on either sides of the armrest, his fingers slightly interlocked.

She lifted a pale hand and placed it on her hip while the other hung limply at her side, "If I were that predictable, what fun would it bring to any of us? "

"Indeed," he agreed steadily, nodding his head slightly in approval of her answer "Well now that this matter has been settled, let's proceed to the next issue on hand" he paused to take a sip of the warm earthly flavorful tea, "Seeing as you will need some practice to get used to the powers of the Hogyoku, you will begin training tomorrow noon"

"and the one who will be training me?" she asked nonchalantly.

He raised a finger and corrected her "not one, ones. The Espadas will be taking turns regularly to train with you until having proven to be capable of someone more challenging". She nodded slightly, and said no more. Though it was not startling that he had planned beforehand of how he wanted her to progress towards the control of the Hogyoku, it was quite impressive in the way he had done everything in such fashionably order. If if weren't for his sick desire to play God and rule the worlds, he would definitely have been an excellent leader.

* * *

Ichigo had felt the familiar reiatsu that appeared just a second ago, it was no doubt one of his closest friends' (though he'd never admit). He had been training with Renji when the two noticed the sudden intrusion of the newcomer's signature Both he and Renji knew that the sparring could wait, and the priority at the moment was to find their lost friend immediately. They had to get hold of him before the others could. The reiatsu had been suppressed, but it was enough to let them know of where the owner was, and he was near. They shunpo-ed quickly over to the supposed location and soon enough, they spotted him.

"Ishida!," Ichigo's roar nearly echoed down the empty walkways of Soul Society. Said man turned to meet them, an unsettling feeling rising to their chest when they found him alone. Though all of them were internally relieved to see each other, the three knew that there were more important matters and questions that had to be answered to.

"H-how did you get here, where did you go?! Where's Rukia and Inoue?.." Questions were instantly fired in his direction. He sighed and took a long breath, signaling them to sit down before he could explain everything.

It had been nearly a weeks since the Quincy had been spotted, and the last time he was seen was not an assuring scene. He could scarcely remember fighting with Szayel Aporro Granz when he was quietly subdued before the world faded to darkness for him. When he had regained his consciousness, he was lying in a room of grey walls and ground likely a jail, except with slightly better comforts. After a short period of time, the Sexta espada named Grimmjow had constantly brought food and other necessities to him, and when the arrancar was questioned for the motive of his capture, the blue haired only shrugged. It was made so that it was impossible for Uryuu to escape the room as there were probably hundreds of Arrancars roaming around Las Noches, and around the walls of the cell were coated with high-leveled barrier spells.

Ichigo and the rest who had traveled to Hueco Mundo were forced to retreat after having some fatally injured and under the orders of the Head commander. When the original group that first infiltrated the castle of Aizen was realized to be lacking two, Ichigo had flatly refused to leave without them and was strongly backed up by the others who held close relations with the missing individuals. Seeing that it was no use in trying to persuade them to change their minds, the General commander had allowed the maximum time limit of two days before they were to return to Sereitei.

After two full days of searching and struggling, they had forcefully returned to Soul Society after coming up with no luck. The last trace of Rukia's or Ishida's reiatsu that had been mildly lingering amidst had long ago faded and disappeared. Though it was impossible to sense either of the missing two's being, no one had given up hope that they were still alive. After recuperating and having their injuries tended to, Ichigo and Renji had then been sparring in hopes to improve their strengths and the duo charging back for a second rescue mission.

There was a moment of silence before the information given to them had successfully been lodged into their brains, and when it finally did get in, the reaction was as expected. "We have to go back now! We have to save them before they get hurt! They-" the two men nearly went on a rampage.

Shifting his glasses with his ring finger, he scolded the two reckless persons "Don't you understand anything? We can't go back, not in this condition. You know very well that we are no match for them in this state, the only thing that will truly help is if we train harder and get stronger. " His own words sending a bitter taste in his mouth that sunk to the pits of his stomach, how even though it was nothing but the truth, it still sent a clear message of their handicapped situation.

"But we must! Rukia.. she will be waiting for us..and Inoue.." Ichigo's voice shook in a mixture of frustration and sadness, the empowering feeling of helplessness at failing to protect the ones that he cared about.

"Kurosaki, Abarai, there is something I need to tell you.." he paused, not knowing if he had enough courage to continue. Having experienced the heart-wrenching exchange with their former ally, it was going to be a whole deal harder to convey everything to the two associates of the former shinigami and watch their distressed faces.

Sweat trickling down either side of their faces, their hearts pounding fiercely, they found themselves totally unprepared when the words had left his mouth.

"You guys never asked me how I got out, so I assume you have figured that it has something to do with Kuchiki's disappearance.." he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply "You're right about that. The deal I was told of; was the guarantee of me, Inoue's and everyone else's safety in exchange for Kuchiki's abiding to Aizen's request.." his fist clenched so tightly that it paled.

They knew, they knew all too well what that had meant. She was always one who cared more of others than of herself and without a doubt, would go to the end of the world to protect others, even if it meant for the sacrifice of her own life.

Absolute fear and dread in asking what needed to be answered "w-what was the request?.."

"I do not know exactly but.." the scene from before played and replayed in his mind, each time scarring even deeper and more painfully "she..there was..I felt.." the other two exchanged look when their usually composed friend was uncharacteristically struggling to even say a full sentence "..I noticed that her reiatsu felt different, in contrast to the previous warmth that had emitted, it now seemed to hold something dark..something I can't fully grasp..and her movements and strength seemed to have increased tremendously.."

Running out of patience at the twist and turns of the Quincy's speech, Renji made a grab at Ishida only to be held back in a strict manner by Ichigo. Renji was about to protest when he turned and found the usually cocky and laid-back substitute shinigamo with a dead serious expression of his face. "Straight to the point Ishida," the tone matching the humorless mood of the current conditions.

His magnificent blue turned their focus to the dark clouds that were looming over their heads, threatening to release their clear liquid contents upon them within seconds. "She had lifted her robe slightly and showed me what it was covering..the hollow hole in the place where her heart should have been", now refocusing his sights on the two dumbstruck men that stood before him, shaking violently. It was akin to being stabbed continuously with a blunt rusty knife, the pain received slow and torturous.

"She had said that the next time the battle breaks out, we must stop for nothing, no one..including her.." he loosened his fists, and thick crimson blood emerged from his palm where his nails had previously sunk into "for she is no longer our ally.."

Droplets of crystals fell from the sky, rapidly darkening each spot of ground they landed on. The light shower quickly rose to a heavy downpour, following after was the streaks of lighting and roars of the thunder. The three stood in silence as the rain soaked them from head to toe, their drenched clothing sticking to their skin. Though no words were shared among, all knew of the quiet promises each had given in the deluge on this day.

_It's raining again.._


	5. Dealings

**Awakening: Chapter 5:**

**Author's Note:**

**I'm too in love with this story to write the continue the rest of my other stories! D:**

**Even though this story had very little readers, I don't care!**

**Espadas Rule! Rukia rules too ^^**

**I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy! ;D**

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**Normal POV:**

Her next opponent walked carelessly into the training grounds, the slight shuffling could be hear as he slowly strode towards her, hands in his pocket. Having defeated the previous two Espadas before him, she knew that with each descending number, was the great ascend in strength. There was twice when she had faced the teal haired espada, one in which he had tried to pierce a hole through her that had taken so long to recover. Funny how things work out, seeing how now she had willingly gained a hole in placement of her heart, she could laugh at the irony of the situation.

She let her violet eyes roam to his figure, slowly observing his feature and every outline of his body 'not bad' she mused to herself, and stopped when her gaze met his. He knew he was good looking and was absolutely pleasured when he found his 'sparring partner' checking him out, the ever noticeable smug grin on his face. 'She's so tiny, I could crush her with one hand' he sadistically thought of all the torture he was going to put her through. Slicing her snow-touched skin open, leaving deep multiple scars on her body and caking her hair with her own blood.

"Cheh, I can't believe those two idiots let a mere woman defeat them, how pathetic" he scorned cockily as he stood before her, his eyes lazily roaming down to her.

Normally, Rukia wouldn't have let anyone off without bashing them up for the insult at her skills, however, after the implanting on Hogyoku within her, many changes have been made and patience was one of them. Not forgetting, she had other plans on hand for the cocky bastard infront of her. So she replied calmly "Oh? Such a arrogant one you are. We'll see who's the pathetic one AFTER the battle"

He clenched his jaw slightly but decided not to show much affects of her remarks "A little shrimp like you wouldn't even be able to lay an injury on me. I'll squish you like the pest that you are"

"So confident of your own strength? Wouldn't it be very sad if this 'mere woman' beat the shit out of you?" she mocked, a sly smile creeping to her lips.

"Don't push it lady, I'll win you without my release form, heck I won't even need to bring out my sword or break a sweat" he scoffed, growing irritation at the insolent female that dared challenge him.

She was leading him on to something that he didn't even know "How about we make a deal?"

Though not one who was interested in anything except ripping flesh and limbs out, he was quite curious as to what the ex-shinigami was proposing. "Deal? What, you want me to go easy on you? Should've known you were a-"

"Shut up please, don't go assuming things when you've yet to hear of the preposition" her arms folded across her chest, as she closed her eyes, not allowing the provoked arrancar to start raging, she continued "If you win, I'll bow to you and be at your biding for a week"

That definitely sparked the interest in the Sexta, and even though not a minute ago he was about to claw her eyes out, he decided that the idea of her being under his command for a week was slightly appealing. Afterall, she was Aizen's gem and the emo quatro was supposed to be in-charge of her well-being. He shivered in pleasure at the thought of causing trouble for the two speck heads. "Oh I will win definitely, the prize isn't very attractive..but I'll settle for it"

Her eyes still closed "If I win, you'll do whatever I ask you to for two days"

"Whatever," he shrugged and was excited for the expected easy victory and a new henchmen in his favor.

"So is it a deal?" she held out a pale hand in which he grabbed before the earnest reply "deal," Her lids fluttered open to reveal the shocking burst of amethyst, her smirk growing ever bigger. _'Gotcha'_

_._

_.  
_Stepping a few steps back away from each other, Rukia unsheathed her sword while Grimmjow stood still, watching her. He lifted a toned arm infront of him and moved his finger as a sign to her 'come'. Rukia ran towards him at a moderate speed and swung her sword down on him, he blocked easily his forearm, hierro preventing him from taking any damage. A few more times she slashed at him, only to be blocked in each attack. "Stop wasting my time, your half-assed attempts are boring me" he scoffed, to which she cocked an eyebrow to.

"If you say so," and she disappeared from his sight. 'What?..Where'd she..' his thoughts were cut off when he felt a slight gush of wind from behind him. He swiveled back and blocked the incoming sword with his arm "You're fast but that's not going to help you much unless you can actually cut through my hierro"

"Are you sure that it hasn't already?" the question thrown to him was caught in surprise, as if on cue, a sharp pain emerged on where her sword had landed a few moments ago, blood now trickled down from the cut. 'how did she?..'.. "Are you sure you don't want to draw your sword?" she queried mockingly.

A growl "Make me,", and she charged towards him again he readied himself for the blow, but it never came. He sensed movements behind him and turned to block "Not the same old tri-" she wasn't there. She reappeared at his side and aimed a slash at his neck, forcing him to draw his sword to defend himself. Had he been a second slower, he was sure that his handsome head would have been sliced clean off his shoulders.

With both their swords pressuring against each other, he could clearly see the triumphant smirk on her face and he swore to wipe it off her face. That's it, he was done playing games with this brat. He pushed violently against her and she slid back a few before gaining back ground. He sent a kick, hoping to entangle her legs and send her sprawling on the ground, however she dodged it with a jump. He took that moment as an advantage and swiped towards her stomach. Instead of meeting flesh, his blade met with air at where Rukia was at a mili-second ago. Then he felt the cool metal slice through his hierro and into his skin and muscles.

"Bitch!" he hissed and slashed again at her figure, she was taunting him and he was going to allow her to make a fool out of him. She stood collectedly infront of him, her pure white katana at her side. He smirked and charged at her, before she could compromise what was happening, he sonido-ed behind her and aimed "cero" at her back, too near to dodge, she crashed into the wall after getting hit by the hazardous red glow. Not wasting time, he sonido-ed to her side and placed the Negación at her chest.

Swirls of dangerous violet wrapped around, encaging her like streams of silk. Before she could do anything to resist, she had already been binded and trapped. The cube gently rolled to the ground and Grimmjow walked over to pick it up. "Damn, and I thought I would have a new servant. Ah well" he figured that it would probably take her a few days before she could be released from the other dimension.

He snorted and started walking towards the exit "You're just going to leave?" a female's voice echoed before a violent explosion followed. Wide eyed, Grimmjow turned only to face Rukia, who other than the ripped hakama, was seemingly unscathed. "Impossible! You were in there for less than five minutes! Even that sickening bastard took days before he-"

"Well I'm here aren't I?" she chuckled deeply "That's a neat toy you have there" she pointed towards the cube in his hands "but you're going to have to try harder"

"Fuck you Bitch!" he snarled. He was royally pissed at her, he didn't care that she had somehow managed to break through the dimension, he wanted her blood to spill for mocking him. He sliced his hand partly with his zapakuto and grabbed it tightly before releasing a wild rush of blue Gran Ray Cero towards the unsuspecting girl. "Let's see how you dodge that!" his insanely blue eyes widened in exhilaration as the attack rushed over, swallowing her whole.

How many times was he to be taken by shock in one day?.. She shoved her legs into the gravel before going head first against the murderous cero that was heading her way. With her sword raised bravely infront of her, she went in stance as the forthcoming attack met with the edge of her katana. The blue sizzling stream of light slowly faded before disappearing altogether with one swipe of her sword.

She had obtained a mild scald on her left shoulder, and her breathing was heavy, but heck, no one else he knew would have been able to survive the blast with less than half their body gone. Knowing he was in deep shit, he was about to release his resurrection form when he felt her blade beneath his neck "I know we can go on further, but I'm pretty sure I'll need you intact, so what do you say we end this now?"

With a flurry of movements, she had already sheathed her sword back into her sash and walked to his front. "It's only one time, you got lucky there" he defended, while she just nodded "hai hai". She gave him a smile, this time a genuinely good natured one and he found himself surprisingly returning one. Grimmjow was never one to care about a single shit and would easily rip off someone's arm if he felt like it, however, this female that was standing before him made him feel something entirely different. He wasn't sure of what it was, but he found that it wasn't something he felt against.

And that was when the stoic Espada had found them, sweetly exchanging smiles like the two were best of buddies. He nearly got a heart attack when he found the usually rash and excessively-violent Sexta being absolutely compromising. He questioned his eye sight, then when deemed them perfectly fine, questioned the Sexta's current state of mind: not that he was that sane normally.

"So I see that you have lost shamelessly to her" it was his way of announcing his presence.

The smile now replaced with his usual (but lighter) frown as he gritted his teeth in annoyance "Get your facts right Emo-face, I did not lose shamelessly.." then he took a quick glance at the petite figure beside him before adding "she just earned a well-deserved victory". The green eyed espada could not believe what he had just heard 'had the idiot finally lost it?'.

"So spit it out..erm..what's your name again?" Grimmjow struggled to remember the many times Aizen or Gin had mentioned her.

"Rukia Kuchiki, but just Rukia will do" she shrugged.

"Yeah so.. Rukia" he found himself slightly shivering when saying her name "what do you want from me?" He wrecked his brain to think of what she could possibly gain from him; maybe she wanted to torture him? Or ask him to help her escape? That was definitely a possibility.

Ulquiorra silently observed the near to perfectly normal exchange between the two, still recovering from the shock that he had gotten. "Ahh, it's actually really boring here, so I want to head to the real world."

Caught off guard, Grimmjow testily asked "And that has something to do with me because?.." letting his question drift in mid air.

Her half lid eyes matched the sly smirk that had returned "why you'll be following me of course!"

This time, she was answered by the until-now quiet espada "absolutely not. I can not possibly allow you to leave, only under the care of this bumbling fool with the brain capacity of a mere proton"

That caused Grimmjow to have his flame of killing intent combust spontaneously. He was about to lurch forward and claw out the eyes of Ulquiorra, when he felt a warm soothing hand placed before his chest, gently but firmly stopping him from proceeding with his intentions. "Come on Ulquiorra, don't start an unnecessary fight. And..I'm not going to try to escape.. there's no place for me to go to anyways" a bitter remark that ended with a sour note.

Grimmjow had miraculously calmed down slightly and was now glaring at the bastard who insulted him so off-handedly. He had found the usually emotionless bastard not paying any attention to him, instead was looking down so calmly at their female companion. 'Almost like he cares' Grimmjow noticed. Ulquiorra on the other hand, was paying absolute attention to Rukia and recognized that nearly undetectable tone of deflation. Was intrigued to know that it bothered him when she was feeling depressed or bothered.

"Fine, but you know the limits and precautions to be taken I presume" Ulquiorra finally said.

Rukia nearly squealed in delight and hugged Ulquiorra when she heard his reply "Of course of course" she bounced slightly in happiness.

He nodded and walked away, then an idea struck her. 'Brilliant!' she thought happily before grabbing Ulquiorra's slender smooth hand. Though shocked by her sudden gesture, Ulquiorra stopped in his tracks and turned slightly to face her and see what she wanted. "Ulquiorra, come with us?.." her statement sounded more of a question.

Grimmjow shook his head and ruffled his hair slightly 'I would bet my hands and feet that Emo-face would never ever go despite her pleads'.

He would have to thank the Gods that he hadn't spoken his previous thoughts out, if not..he would only have his bare body and head to spare.


	6. Dragging

**Awakening: Chapter 6:**

**Author's Note:**

**Hiya Everyone~!**

**before I continue with the story,**

**here's a very HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ! #$%**

**okae that's enough. MOVING ON, let's continue with the story**

**warning: lotsa profanities due to Grimmjow's dirty dirty language**

**I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters!**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Normal POV:**

His eyebrow twitched slightly as his gaze followed the moving female that circled and swirled around him. He tried his best not to squirm under her unmoving attention, all the while she squinted her eye and made a few "hmm" and "ahh". After tolerating her questionable actions for what seemed like decades, he finally snapped. Gritting his teeth, his strong arm shot out from his pockets and grabbed her by her shoulders, making her stop with her pacing "Stop it, you're making me dizzy".

Pushing away his hands, she took a few steps back and retained her previous stance; one hand placed on her hips while the other below her chin. Then, her eyes practically glowed when a thought suddenly came to her mind. "I've got it!" she said excitedly as she snapped her fingers, a smile playing on her lips.

Sulking, he asked indifferently "got what?". She just shrugged and went on her merry way towards her intended destination only to halt her footsteps when she realized that she had no idea how to get there. Turning towards the impassive Quatro "Lead me to Syazel's?" she turned and leant towards a very uncomfortable Ulquiorra that was leaning against the wall. He stood in silence and stared at her for a few seconds before finally sighing. "Follow," with one word as he waved his hand and started walking. Rukia quickened her pace to walk by his side, only looking over her shoulder to the blue stunned devil "Come on Grimmjow!", before she continued following Ulquiorra.

He questioned to how the fuck he had managed to get himself into situations like this, having to deal with the annoying midget and emo face. "Chh" he sniffed before begrudgingly dragged his feet and walking after them. They passed many hallways and climbed the numerous flight of stairs, such an odd sight to be bestowed upon, the unlikely three walking side by side in each others company.

As they entered the wide entrance of one of Syazel's many laboratories, they were greeted by one of the mad scientist's bouncy and quirky fraccion. While they waited for him to arrive, Rukia and Grimmjow wandered around the lab, inspecting the strange equipments and flasks that held bubbling liquids. Ulquiorra whom had no interest in 'sight-seeing' only found a pillar to lean against, his hands kept in his pockets.

"Ahh, Rukia! What a delight it is for you to come and visit me!" the bubble-gum hair Espada clapped his hands together and approached her cheerily.

Rukia couldn't help but smile widely at his odd antics "Hello Syazel! It's nice to see you too, however I do have something that I would like to request of you. If.. it's not too much trouble?"

"Of course Rukia, if it is within my capabilities. Anything for you.." he placed a hand tenderly over her arm. The two that had been unnoticed until now appeared at her side, both quite keen and interested to know what the petite female was up to. Rukia turned towards the sulking Grimmjow and the melancholic Ulquiorra. "I need to talk to him alone, you two stay outside for awhile." she pointed towards the exit and shoo-ed them away.

"What the hell for?" Grimmjow demanded, not liking the fact that he was being ordered around.

"You'll know when you know okay?" she said as she pushed him from behind, guiding the unpleased Sexta out and disappearing behind the closed door. He growled, muttering incoherents about 'bossy bitches with stunted growth' and was about to head off when he noticed that something was missing..or rather, someone. The missing person appeared soon after behind Rukia.

Dragging a very reluctant and bored Ulquiorra by the wrist, she opened the door and shoved him out as well. "You two stay here, I won't take long!" she promised, then stared blankly at the two obviously irked persons before adding as an afterthought "Behave!". Slamming the door close.

The two rose a brow at her sudden change of mood. In such a short time, she had displayed various types of emotions, expressions and drastic changes in behavior. Though not one to be interested in the matters regarding one's emotions, Ulquiorra has often found himself quite amused by her strange ever-changing attitude. For example; the way she acted all cold and untouchable near Aizen, the quite friendly way she approached the other espadas, not forgetting the serious front she had on when dealing with serious matters; training.

What had really impressed Ulquiorra the most was the vast improvements in her fighting skills. He had been quietly observing her every training with the previous few espadas, and each time, she seemed to have improved tremendously. At the start, though she was graceful and her swings were powerful, it was a definite no-win battle between her and Granz. After a few remarks he had made about her mistakes and flaws in movements, she had immediately perfected it without a sweat. Each time, her powers had shot up to a whole new level and in just a few days, she had easily defeated both the Octava and Sèptima in four minutes flat. And to think that this whole time, she had never once released her Shikai or resurrection form.

.

As the two stood idly in the silence while waiting for the meddlesome female to appear; one too in thought while the other just refused to interact with his arch-nemesis. Then, a few voices of bidding farewells were heard and the door swung open, Rukia slowly walked out with a satisfied grin. "Chh, took you long enough!" as Grimmjow pushed himself off the pale wall that was similar to Ulquiorra's skin tone "the hell were you doing in there anyway?" he stuck a thumb in the door's direction.

Rukia only grinned "You'll know tomorrow, but for now, we need to go to the real world". Ulquiorra stepped forward and opened a Garganta "Suppress your reiatsu, we must go without being found", Rukia nodded while Grimmjow sulked but complied to. The trio stepped through the Garganta one by one, with Ulquiorra leading followed by Rukia and Grimmjow. They were in Karakura, but at the further area to the South. They stood in the air, looking down at the town below their feets. The sun was setting, its golden streaks slowly dissipating behind the hills faraway.

Not usually one who appreciated the stillness of things, Grimmjow was surprisingly calm for once, enjoying the breeze and warmth that the sun radiated. Ulquiorra glanced sideways at Rukia who was staring blankly faraway, her eyes seemed distant. He wondered about what she was thinking of, what thoughts were filling her mind at the moment. As if she had realized him staring with a questioning gaze, she offered "I'm just trying to remember this feeling, this carefree feeling that will soon leave us all when the war begins."

She remembered how she had met Ichigo in this same exact town, the one who made her feel human, his friends that accepted her so warmly and showered her with care. She watched the people on the streets, some rushing home to embrace their welcoming families, others spending time with their friends; they all had a bright smile on their faces. Living without a care, she wondered if she could have a life like that.

Grimmjow frowned at her tone, not liking how her eyes had dulled and the corner of her lips turned downwards. , "Oi, snap out of it. Your solemn face is darkening my mood" he turned away from her "besides..you look better when you smile" he tried his best to look indifferent about it. Her eyes widened a fraction before glancing to his face to look at his expression. "You know what'll make me smile?" she tried her best not to laugh out, then pointed at Ulquiorra "if he smiles"

Ulquiorra only gave her an impassive face. Grimmjow's lips pulled wide, his sharp teeth baring into a cheshire grin "Come on Ulquiorra, why don't you smile for the little lady?" his sniggered and elbowed him. Ulquiorra gave him a look that clearly questioned his sanity, Rukia gave him a quick kick to the shin. "Bitch! what the heck was that for?!" he growled and made a grab for her, she swiftly dodged it.

Ignoring his death glare, she sighed before happily continued "alright alright, without any further delay, we shall continue with our supposed task!"

"which is?"

"Shopping!"

"You gotta be kidding me.."

* * *

After dodging the crowd and running into a few random stores, Rukia had finally been satisfied of her stash of clothes "how do I bring this back?" she lifted the pile that had accumulated over the past hour.

Ulquiorra lifted a brow at the stack and sighed "We are going back through the Garganta of course"

Rukia looked over at him with a questioning look "What do you mean? We aren't done here yet!" she huffed and crossed her arms, hugging the clothes to her chest.

"What? These can last you for a freakin' month, how much fucking clothes do you need?!" Grimmjow lifted a piece that she had dropped when she moved her arms and flung it at her head, nicely landing on the top of her crown and infront of her face.

Rukia shook her head vigorously around in hopes of getting the fabric that was obscuring her vision off her face, and stopped when she felt dizzy from all that near head-banging motions. Tipsy, she stumbled a few steps back before a hand caught her from falling, lifting the shirt that covered her eyes at the same time. She stood dazed for a moment before turning back to thank her 'savior' "Ah thank you.. Ulquiorraaaa-aah!" her sincere line of gratitude turning into a loud yelp when she realized her face was inches from his.

She quickly got on her feet again, and coughed to hide her embarrassment then turned her attention to Grimmjow who was snickering at her expense "Shut up you stupid overgrown cat!"

Grimmjow's smirk immediately turned to a snarl "Cat?! I'm a Panther, a fucking panther!"

"You do know that they come from the same feline fa-" Ulquiorra stated calmly before the teal eyed arrancar rudely interrupted "I'm not a fucking pussy!". Ulquiorra nearly rolled his eyes at the clearly provoked Grimmjow's extremely limited vocabulary.

Rukia grinned widely, her half-lidded eyes gleaming with mischief "you ought to watch that mouth of yours, all those M-rated words spewing out..be nice and I'll give you your ball of yarn..Kitty~" she nearly purred. Grimmjow gritted his teeth and threw a punch that aimed for her head, she easily stepped to her right and dodge the incoming blow. All the while Rukia was chuckling, extremely amused at the irritated Sexta who was throwing half-hearted kicks and punches at her.

"Alright enough enough, we still have things to do" she said and tossed the whole stack of clothes to Grimmjow "Here since you're so anxious to get away, bring this back to my room and you're free for the day" she beamed at him. Before he could make a fuss or refuse, she had already been out of sight. "pfft" Grimmjow turned his attention to the Green-eyed who was staring at him "The hell you lookin' at?" he growled. A moment passed before a corner of Ulquiorra's lip twitched slightly, then before Grimmjow had a chance to double confirm what he saw, Ulquiorra turned and walked away, going on his search for the small female.

'Did that fucker just..smile?'..


	7. Damned

**Awakening: Chapter 7:**

**Author's Note:**

**Hiya everybodey~ ;D**

**It is now 4.35a.m in Sleepy Singapore.**

**But whatever, so let's get on with the story!**

**I do not own bleach or any of it's characters~**

**.**

**.**

**Enjoy! ;3**

* * *

**Normal POV:**

He stood and waited stationary, leaning against the wall and would have probably been able to completely blend in if it weren't for his pale skin contrasting against the crimson shaded wallpaper. His companion had been too busy searching through the racks to even give a glance to him and thus he was left alone.. until now. His emerald cat-like eyes watched as the small raven-haired dashed towards him, a gleam in her wide open amethyst orbs, and that was then he realized something was up.

With a stack of clothes in her arms, she quickly dragged him to the back room where no one could see the clothes floating around an invisible person. She shoved the stash to him and stood there looking expectantly at him, as if he would understand what he was supposed to do just by waiting there for him and staring intensely at him. Ulquiorra looked down at the clothes he had in his hands, he realized that mostly were of darker shades with black, different shades of grey and white, then looked back at Rukia.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try them!" she urged, her eyes now glistening as brightly as stars.

"No"

Her lips immediately curved downward as the one word of rejection slipped from his lips, obviously very disappointed with his lack of enthusiasm. "Why not? I picked them out for you, it'll look nice I swear!" her persistency increasing with each word and the determined look was instantly brought forth.

He wondered why there was even a need for him to come with her in the first place when he could be doing something else that was much more useful 'like training or ..' he stopped when he realized that there wasn't actually much that he could do in the desert they called home. "No" he repeated with the same monotonous voice and expression.

She frowned at his stubborn attitude, glaring angrily into his deep green eyes as he stared back down at her with a bored expression. Of all the things in the world, there was one thing that Rukia had exceedingly excelled at, and that was fighting for what she wanted. She didn't understand why he couldn't just do as she asked 'it's not as if I'm asking him to go and kill himself' she thought and inwardly groaned. Narrowing her eyes at him "Wear it, or I'll strip you down and force it on you" she growled dangerously at him.

A delicate black brow raised slightly at her threat. "Yes I did and I will if I have to" she warned, having predicted his thoughts just by looking at his expressions (though they almost always maintained in the same stoic ways). He looked down at the bundle in his arms and breathed out deeply, mimicking a sigh but not so much. Seeing that she wasn't about to give up anytime soon, he decided it was best if he just played along 'I'm just doing this because I don't want to waste any more time than necessary' he assured himself.

"Hold this" as he passed the stack back to Rukia and she was about to whine until he unzipped his jacket. Revealing the toned and absolutely well defined muscles and smooth abs underneath the plain white uniform. Since she was surrounded by tons of well sought-after man that woman usually fantasized about, it wasn't the first time she had been exposed to the sight of fit and to-drool at bodies but.. this was different. She couldn't avert her attention, the little voice in her head pleaded her to turn away, to look at anywhere else other than the pale smooth and god-like body infront of her. She might have drooled, the possibility of having a nose-bleed was extremely high and there were little signals blinking red in her mind, warning her of the serious embarrassment she would suffer from if she stared longer.

Ulquiorra on the other hand was just standing idly, waiting for her to pass him a shirt or something when he found her stunned shock by something. Not knowing that he was the cause of her current stunned-silent behavior, he walked nearer to her, effectively snapping her out of her trance. It confused him utterly when she took a step back just as he approached her. "Rukia.." her name rolled smoothly off the tip of he tongue, she gasped when she heard his deep velvety voice calling her.

"Y-yes?" she mentally slapped herself for stuttering and bit her lips , trying to avoid eye contact with him. He then realized, and smirked the slightest bit when he understood that he was the cause of her stammer. He didn't understand why exactly, but he found out that it was strangely enjoyable to see her all flustered up and decided to prode further. He took another step towards her, which she responded with her own few steps back. She would have continued backing up all the way if she had to but luck was not on her side when she soon found her back meeting the cool surface of the hard wall, and gulped.

His left hand on the wall beside head, his body bent slightly so he was at the same eye level as her. A lovely shade of red grew on her cheeks at the close proximity of their bodies, her heart nearly jumped out when he leaned closer towards her, the feel of his body heat radiating on her skin. Her eyes flickered, glancing all about the room, only everything.._anything_ other than on him. He of course noticed her desperate attempts to avoid any sense of eye contacts and found it absolutely amusing. He lifted his free hand and cupped her chin with his thumb and fore-finger "Rukia" he called her name again "look at me".

She couldn't help it. She knew she should have ignored that simple command but her body acted against her will, eyes shifting to meet his smothering gaze, with sights fixed, she couldn't find the strength to look away. Rukia Kuchiki was not one to falter, she had been through so much; growing up alone, losing her only friend, having cruel accusations shoved at her, and throughout all this she had remained strong and brave. 'Then why am I so affected just because of this?' she frowned.

The small twitch at the corner of his lips was barely noticeable, but at such a close range and with this queer understanding of said stoic espada, she noticed then 'he is fooling with me?..'. Her eyes widened at her findings, slightly ashamed at herself for flushing like a school-girl over lean but firm-muscled male bodies, but on the hand, quite interested and shocked to find that Ulquiorra had a 'mischievous' (if that term could actually be used on him) side. Then, forcing herself to let the image of Ulquiorra's absolutely hot body be erased from her mind, she decided that she wasn't going to let him mess with her and inwardly darkly chuckled 'two can play this game'.

Ulquiorra noticed a change in her eyes, her tensed muscles immediately relaxed and her posture changed. Utterly confused at her sudden change in attitude and behaviour, he found himself lost in thought until he felt something graze against his exposed chest. With one hand placed on his chest and the other behind her, lifting her forward "Yes Ulquiorra?~ I'm looking at you now" his name was sensually pronounced and seemed to come out in italics cursive, a hint of her lips pulling up at the sides. She was in absolutely amazement of her bravery, she had initially planned to just get back at him by getting just slightly nearer to him but her body, like movements uncontrolled by herself, moved to touch him. She nearly panicked.

He stood stunned, not knowing what to do. He hadn't expect for herself to pick up so quickly and to push herself towards him in fact. He simply did not understand the thoughts of this female that stood before him but decided not to get distracted. Before he could open his mouth to speak, a Garganta opened up just a few steps away from them and an Arrancar female appeared before them. Bowing slightly, the Arrancar proceeded with her purpose of appearance and explained her abrupt interruption "Ulquiorra-sama, Aizen-sama has requested for your presence". The shock and embarrassment on her face immediately showed when she found herself looking at a topless Ulquiorra and Rukia in a inappropriate position.

Rukia froze while Ulquiorra seemed unaffected, the same plain expression on his face. Suddenly noticing the awkwardness of the situation, Rukia quickly picked up Ulquiorra's uniform and shoved it back to him "you shouldn't flash yourself in public, Schiffer-san" she nearly choked in laughter when he gave her a look that questioned her sanity.

After putting back on his jacket, he wordlessly walked towards the Garganta, stopping back to look Rukia who was day-dreaming and spacing out "Come" and waved his hand towards himself. Rukia rolled her eyes at him but followed nevertheless.

* * *

_Back in Las Noches.._

There was a knock on the door, followed by the deep voice of the Green-eyed Espada "Ulquiorra Schiffer, entering" as he walked in, bowing down before continuing "I came as soon as I could. You have asked to see me Aizen-sama?"

The chocolate brown kindly eyes narrowed slightly "Yes my dear Quatro, you're as punctual as ever" a smile made its way to his face "I assume Rukia's training has been going on smoothly?

"Yes Aizen-sama, her strength and potential has increased at remarkable speed. So far she has managed to surpassed the tests, and is able to easily subdue both the Sexta and Octava" Ulquiorra said impassively.

Aizen nodded in acceptance, pleased with the progress of his new interest "Good, there will be a slight change of plans after this, but for now continue with what you are doing."

Ulquiorra bowed again "As you wish Aizen-sama". With a wave of his hand, Aizen dismissed his loyal subject. After the door had been completely closed, a figure emerged from the back of the room.

"I'm sure you have noticed that our beloved espadas has warmed up to our guest?"

His ever-present smile widened "Yes yes, even Ulqui-san seemed to be affected. Aren't you worried that this might disrupt with your planning?" the silver-haired snake enquired. Taking his own sweet time to enjoy a sip from his tea, Aizen chuckled and shook his head "It's all going better than I expected" he hummed knowingly "now all I need is to wait for Syazel to be done with my little present for Rukia and all will be _perfect_.."


End file.
